Tune: "Din Feng Bo" - Rainy Days
- Poetry of Huang Tingjian

《定风波·次高左藏使君韵》

- Last updated: 2024-04-07 14:59:59

中文原文

万里黔中一漏天，屋居终日似乘船。

及至重阳天也霁，催醉，鬼门关外蜀江前。

莫笑老翁犹气岸，君看，几人黄菊上华颠？

戏马台南追两谢，驰射，风流犹拍古人肩。

English Translation

Ten thousand li away in Qian Zhong,

it rained like the sky was leaking.

Staying inside the house all the time

as if I have been on a boat ride.

On this Double Nine Festival Day,

we finally can see a blue and clear sky.

I feel the urge to drink before the Shu River

or the Devil gate outside.

Don't laugh at this old man

who still has a lot of pride.

Look, how many old men would still

insert yellow mums

into their temple hair in white?

I can still chase southward the two Xies

on the Horse-Show stage.

When it comes to rapid shooting with arrows,

I am as good as those ancient heroes.

By Huang Tingjian

Why Chinese poems is so special?: The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.

How to read a Chinese poem?: Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.

List of Chinese poets